Linda Mason, associate professor of special education, has been named as the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award for the Council of Exceptional Children. The award will be presented at the Division of Research reception at the CEC Annual Convention (Baltimore, MD) and Linda will make an invited presentation at the 2011 CEC Convention. This award recognizes Linda's research in effective writing instruction for students with disabilities.

David Lee, associate professor of special education, has visited the poverty-stricken nation of Zambia twice in the past three years to offer weeklong seminars to train teachers how to be better instructors.  Lee’s experience in teacher training and research on instructional strategies has provided a foundation for his humanitarian work in Zambia.

In response to a growing national demand for special education teachers, Penn State is offering scholarships up to $12,500 for 15 months of study in early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE). Kathleen McKinnon, assistant professor of special education, is the director of the U.S. Department of Education funded training grant.

Paul J. Riccomini, Penn State, associate professor of special education, and Bradley S. Witzel, faculty member at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., are co-authors of two newly released books that address techniques of mathematics instruction. "Response to Intervention in Math” (Corwin Press) offers guidelines for improving learning for all students, especially those who have learning disabilities and/or are struggling with mathematics content. Witzel and Riccomini’s second book is titled “Solving Equations: An Algebraic Intervention” (Allyn & Bacon). This textbook provides teachers and preservice teachers with information to employ the concrete-to-representational-to-abstract (CRA) sequence of instruction with forms of algebraic equations.

Charles Hughes, Penn State professor of special education, and Anita L. Archer, a nationally recognized educational consultant, are co-authors of a new book titled Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching (Guilford Publishers). A supporting website provides excerpts from the book and supporing videos

The demand for qualified special education faculty already exceeds supply, and the demand for qualified special education faculty will continue to grow in the 21st century. Professor Kathy Ruhl and associate professor David Lee are the Project Co-Directors for PPREP, a federally funded program that provides financial and academic support to full-time doctoral students in Special Education at Penn State.

Frank Rusch, professor of special education, has been awarded a Mary Switzer Research Fellowship Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Rusch will apply his $75,000 grant to his current research, including his newly developed methodology related to evaluating study quality. His project is titled “Meta-Analysis of Self-Instructional Factors and Outcomes for Youth and Young Adults with intellectual Disabilities: A Synthesis of Research.”

David McNaughton (professor, special education) and David Beukelman (University of Nebraska, Lincoln) have drawn upon both the available research and the personal experiences of young adults who use AAC in creating a new book, "Transition Strategies for Adolescents and Young Adults Who Use AAC" (Brookes Publishing, 2010). The book addresses four key components of adult life for all individuals, including people who use AAC: having a safe place to live; participating in meaningful activities; maintaining a reliable source of income and access to needed services; and developing friendships and intimate relationships.